


Broken Clock

by byakuzee



Category: The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-21
Updated: 2014-06-21
Packaged: 2018-02-05 15:01:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1822675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/byakuzee/pseuds/byakuzee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the prompt: OoT, After opening the sacred realm Link doesn’t get sealed, instead he finds Zelda and Impa and they live together, hiding and training until he is old enough to hold the master sword.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken Clock

He had no choice but to wait.

Until he was worthy of wielding the Master Sword, until he was strong enough to face Ganondorf, until he was fit to save Hyrule.

He was too young, too weak to shoulder all this burden, and so he had to wait.

Hyrule falling into ruin before his eyes, its people suffering as their lives rapidly turned into living nightmares, hope fading more and more as the years passed… and he had to wait.

And for seven long years, he waited.

:::

The castle was under attack, the King was murdered, the Princess was forced to escape and he was powerless to stop it.

But then there was the ocarina the Princess threw; the solution for all this mess.

He learned the song like he was instructed, went to the Temple of Time like he was instructed, placed the Sacred Stones properly like he was instructed, and pulled the Master Sword like he was instructed.

It never occurred to him — wrapped up in childish nativity that everything could be fixed — to question what he was doing, who was following, what were the consequences.

And how tragic those consequences turned out to be.

:::

Between the flash of an old man telling him that he wasn’t ready yet, the roaring laughter of Ganondorf as he got his hands on one of the Triforce pieces and Navi’s concerned cries, Link’s world faded to black.

:::

He was met with familiar blue eyes when he opened his, leaving him when their owner turned to exclaim, “He’s awake, Impa!”

He sat up, dazed and unfocused before he realized who was by his side and blinked. “P-Princess…?”

She smiled, looking happy that he remembered her as she urged him to lie down. “You’ve been unconscious for two days, don’t push yourself too hard.”

He did as she told, a “Thank you” forming on the edge of his tongue when he noticed another familiar figure.

"Glad to see you awake, lad," Impa said, a relieved smile tugging at her lips.

Before he could ask what happened to get him here with them, Navi circled around him, frantically exclaiming, “I was so worried! I thought you’d never wake up!”

Link smiled at her antics as he gently placed her on his forehead.  _Navi is still the same worry-wart._

The moment was short-lived when Impa asked, her voice holding an edge of dread, “What happened at the Temple of Time? The owl dropped you here and left hurriedly without explanation.”

With a heavy sigh, Link told her all what happened, eyes down-cast because he feared seeing looks of disappointment in Impa and the Princess's eyes; that would only prove that he was unworthy of the task the Great Deku Tree had assigned to him, that he was too weak to stop any of this. 

"Link…" Navi only managed to say, as if knowing what he felt.

As they comforted him in different ways, Link allowed himself — just this once — to cry freely, for he’d try again tomorrow.

:::

His training was very different from the Princess’s; while he was trained to fight in plain sight, to charge head on towards his future opponents, she was trained in stealth, to guide and observe and calculate and take quick action, never giving the chance for anyone to see where the strike would come.

Ways of the Sheikah, Impa told him.

The four of them traveled silently, slowly making their way to Kakariko — and even though he wasn’t meant for it, he at least learned how to not draw attention to himself.

It was a rather nomadic way of life, but he was content to have others with him; he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he was all alone.

:::

It was just another night on the fields, where Impa was gone to gather supplies and Navi was asleep and the camp fire was crackling, that the Princess asked, “Do you think we will succeed?”

It was a question he constantly asked himself, one that robbed him the sleep along many others.

_Was he worthy of fulfilling the role of the Hero of Time Impa and the Princess told him about? Would the Master Sword accept him if he became strong enough? Would he fail again?_

Link shook the depressing thoughts off, not allowing himself to fall in self-pity when the Princess was looking at him earnestly, unconsciously asking for assurance. If there was anyone who felt any guiltier, it was her. She changed too fast in such a short amount of time, and if he didn’t meet her before, he never would've thought that this young girl — a mere child like him with eyes that were burdened with guilt and smiles that were heartbroken — was the same bubbly one that huffed childishly when he told her that he wouldn’t hold a secret.

So he smiled brightly, willing to cheer her up, because despite his doubts, her doubts, there was still hope. “Of course we will, Princess.”

"Call me Zelda." There was an urgent edge in her voice, her smile sad and the hand that reached out to his shaking. "Please."

She always told him to call her by name and he did, but then he would slip back to calling her ‘Princess’ and she would lightly scold him as the cycle began anew. But something about this time was different, and even though he didn’t know what caused her to become so distressed, he nodded nonetheless, firmly squeezing her hand. “Alright, Zelda.”

And that was the last time he called her by her name for years to come.

:::

Getting used to Sheik was a bit difficult. One day, Zelda was there and the next she was gone, replaced by a stranger with red eyes and cryptic words. Link wanted so badly to ask Impa about what happened to Zelda, for he could feel her presence within him.

All she told him was to never acknowledge it, to never utter the name ‘Zelda’ ever again in case someone overheard.

Reluctant yet with no choice but to accept — he fully knew how cunning and resourceful Ganondorf could be — he and Navi never asked again. It helped that Sheik left Kakariko on regular basis, doing whatever task Impa had assigned him to, and that gave him time to adjust and observe the differences.

Sheik tended to be awfully quiet, not speaking unless he was spoken to. He was rather stoic and seemed a bit cold from time to time. He sounded amused whenever his cryptic ways of speech left Link confused and liked to play on his harp, sometimes even joining him when he played on the ocarina.

They were totally different people, Zelda and Sheik, but he considered them his friends nonetheless.

So when Impa told him it was time to part and pursue his destiny, he found himself already missing them dearly.

:::

On his way to Castle Town, he met all sorts of people, helping them and doing all sorts of quests to try and make up for the seven years he spent hiding and preparing.

Seeing all the destruction and misery, Link swore that this time, he would make it, he would finally put this to an end.

When he reached the Temple of Time and managed to pull the Master Sword, he sighed in sheer relief, Navi excitedly circling above him.

As he was leaving, he was met with a familiar face.

"I’ve been waiting for you, Hero of Time."

Link wasn’t sure, but he felt that there was a smile in Sheik’s voice, his eyes — for one brief moment — turning blue.

:::

Going through dungeon after dungeon, Link realized what Zelda had been training for, what Sheik was summoned for: guiding him, helping him and watching over him.

"Thank  _you_ ,” he said when Sheik finished playing the Requiem of Spirit, positive that the meaning was understood.

_Both of you._

:::

Victory, Link mused, was bittersweet, filled with the sacrifices of the sages and the people of Hyrule all around.

But those sacrifices, hopefully, would not be in vain, making way for a better future now that Ganondorf’s reign of terror was put to an end.

"It’s over," Zelda said, tears forming in her eyes and smiling genuinely for the first time in years.

Seeing his friend after years of hiding, all grown up and happy, filled him with relief.

"It’s over," Link assured, smiling back.

:::

When Zelda offered him to go back in time, a time before all of this happened and live his childhood again, Link became horribly conflicted.

On one hand, he could stop all of this from happening all over again and foil Ganondorf’s plans, and Hyrule and Zelda would live in peace, oblivious to the future that was altered.

On the other hand, it would mean that he would leave all of this behind: Hyrule to slowly rebuild itself, and Zelda all by herself with her guilt. 

He was sure that Zelda would get Hyrule back on its feet eventually without any help, but at what cost? The fact that she was feeling so guilty about robbing him his childhood that she offered him a way to go back — even when he had the feeling that she wanted him to stay — told him enough about what plagued her thoughts. 

"I’ll stay, Zelda," he answered, feeling good about being able to say her name — to actually talk to her — without fearing who might’ve heard.

After all, he had many things to make up for, and besides, he felt all weird whenever he returned to the past, feeling that his limbs were too short and his body too weak. 

A reminder of his failure.

Link would’ve laughed if it didn’t hurt — he was as bad as Zelda; two teenagers bearing the burden of ruining the world. Perhaps that was enough reason to stick together and make sure that the guilt wouldn’t break them as long as they lived.

So indeed, he stayed, facing the consequences instead of erasing them.

He was content in growing up once.

:::

Saying goodbye to Navi was the hardest thing he ever had to do. She was with him throughout the whole journey, her presence easing his worry and fears. She was like the mother he never had, never had the chance to meet.

When he learned about his origins, he felt all alone, but then Navi told him that Kokiri or no, he was her charge and she his guardian fairy. She also told him that he was going to get an earful if he forgot to visit, a statement that got a laugh out of him along his tears.

"Hey, listen!" she exclaimed in her small voice that warned him about a lot of dangers, that told him many tales, that comforted him at his weakest.

"I will always be proud of you," she continued, her voice all chocked-up and sad.

And before this became even more painful, Navi flew away.

Even though there was an unbearable pain in his chest, Link never felt alone, for he knew that he still had her and many others by his side.

:::

"But I don’t want a statue!"

"Unfortunately for you, they already started working on it; the people want to make something to honor their hero,"  Zelda replied without missing a beat, utter amusement evident in her voice, "who am I to deny them?"

Link only groaned. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

She gasped in mock offence. “Now why would you ever say that?”

"You were probably the one who gave them the idea." Link snorted.

And then Zelda got suspiciously quiet.

"You didn’t… you did, didn’t you?!" 

"It’ll be a very handsome statue, I assure you of that," she said before she put her Sheikah training to good use and bolted, laughing happily — almost cackling — as she did.

For a moment, Link was happy that his friend was laughing like this again, but then he remembered what she did and chased after her.

"Get back here!"

:::

It wasn’t the happiest ever after, nothing was magically fixed and there were many relapses and set backs along the way. It was slow and tiring and took all of their efforts, but it paid back in the end.

When Ganon came back once again, he was defeated.

Hyrule never sank.


End file.
